BMW has quit Formula E

There’s mention of technology transfer between its electric racing activities and the enormous electrified grilles (with BMW bodies attached) you see knocking about, but the simple line is this: BMW has quit Formula E.

BMW’s motorsport arm – called, surprisingly, BMW Motorsport – announced that following the cessation of Formula E’s seventh season, it will bow out.

It has been a major player in Formula E since the series’ inception and has scored “victories and podiums with the BMW I Andretti Motorsport team”. However, BMW notes there is nothing left to glean from Formula E that’ll inform its road-going cars.

“BMW Group has essentially exhausted the opportunities for this form of technology transfer in the competitive environment of Formula E,” a statement reads. Indeed, it adds that it is shifting its focus on scaling up its e-mobility offerings.

“BMW Group plans to have put one million electric vehicles on the roads by the end of 2021. The goal is to increase this figure to seven million by 2030, of which two-thirds will be fully-electric,” the statement adds.

BMW’s retirement from Formula E follows Audi’s quitting of the series earlier this week.